Thomas Eshelman Stats & Scouting Report

IP	98
ERA	5.786
WHIP	1.48
BB/9	2.755
SO/9	4.5

Full name Thomas Darwin Eshelman
Born 06/20/1994 in Carlsbad, CA
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Cal State Fullerton
Debut 07/01/2019
Drafted in the 2nd round (46th overall) by the Houston Astros in 2015 (signed for $1,100,000).

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Eshelman was moving up draft boards with a strong late finish that helped Fullerton win the Big West Conference. He's been the team's ace since his freshman year in 2013, sharing that designation at first with fellow Titans righty Justin Garza. But as the 5-foot-10 Garza has battled injuries the last two seasons, including Tommy John surgery in 2015, Eshelman has pushed ahead and could go out on the first day of the draft. Eshelman has a unique profile with no plus pitch but the best command in the class and perhaps some of the best command in draft history. Scouts give him present plus major league command, which is exceedingly rare for an amateur player. He'd walked just 17 in 362 2/3 college innings heading into the NCAA tournament, an incredible 0.42 walks per nine innings over three seasons. Eshelman's stuff is fairly ordinary--an 86-91 mph fastball that tops out at 92-93 but is quite true, a straight changeup and fringe-average curveball that has gotten better this year. But he's durable and efficient and has many similarities to 2007 first-round pick James Simmons out of UC Riverside.

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Organization Prospect Rankings

The Astros drafted Eshelman with their second-round pick in 2015, then after the season they traded him to the Phillies as part of the return for Ken Giles. In 2017, Eshelman ranked second in the Triple-A International League with a 2.23 ERA. Few pitchers in the minors can match Eshelman's pinpoint control. He walked just 1.1 batters per nine innings in 2017, because he commands his fastball with precise location to both sides of the plate. He is a finesse pitcher whose entire game is predicated on his ability to hit his spots, since his stuff--including an 87-91 mph fastball that touches 93, along with a curveball and changeup--is fringe-average across the board. His fastball plays better than the radar gun readings because of his ability to command the pitch away from hitters' hot zones, but he doesn't have the stuff to miss bats, which results in a low strikeout rate. Eshelman bears similarities with former Twins righthander Kevin Slowey and could develop into a similar type of back-end starter. He should make his major league debut at some point in 2018.
Eshelman picked apart college hitters with superior command and control, walking just 18 batters over three seasons at Cal State Fullerton and leading Div. I in walk rate each year. The Astros drafted Eshelman in the second round, No. 46 overall, in 2015 but he barely pitched for them, with the Astros shipping him to the Phillies six months later in the seven-player trade that sent Ken Giles to Houston. In his first year in the Phillies organization, Eshelman pitched well at high Class A Clearwater before seeing his ERA swell at hitter-friendly Double-A Reading. Eshelman is a finesse pitcher who is able to succeed by commanding his fastball, moving the ball around the zone and keeping hitters off balance with his pitchability as opposed to his pure stuff. His offerings are fringe-average across the board, with an 87-91 mph fastball that touches 93, a curveball and a changeup, but everything plays up because of his ability to locate and understand hitters' strengths and weaknesses. Eshelman's ceiling is limited, but he could develop into a back-end, up-and-down starter along the lines of former Twins righthander Kevin Slowey.
A teammate of fellow Astros prospect J.D. Davis at Cal State Fullerton, Eshleman had the best command and control college baseball has ever seen. He walked 18 batters in three seasons and led Division I in walk rate all three years. He's the rare draftee who earns present plus command grades. There's nothing sexy about Eshelman's stuff. His fastball will touch 92-93 mph on occasion but he pitches at 87-91 with decent life. He gained a tick in 2015 after incorporating a hip turn into his delivery. His curve, slider and change are all fringe-average but play up because he locates them so well. Eshelman lacks any swing-andmiss pitch, but his command gives him a chance to hop on the fast track and to have a solid career as a back-end starter, similar to ex-Twins like Kevin Slowey or, on the high end, Brad Radke.

Draft Prospects

Eshelman was moving up draft boards with a strong late finish that helped Fullerton win the Big West Conference. He's been the team's ace since his freshman year in 2013, sharing that designation at first with fellow Titans righty Justin Garza. But as the 5-foot-10 Garza has battled injuries the last two seasons, including Tommy John surgery in 2015, Eshelman has pushed ahead and could go out on the first day of the draft. Eshelman has a unique profile with no plus pitch but the best command in the class and perhaps some of the best command in draft history. Scouts give him present plus major league command, which is exceedingly rare for an amateur player. He'd walked just 17 in 362 2/3 college innings heading into the NCAA tournament, an incredible 0.42 walks per nine innings over three seasons. Eshelman's stuff is fairly ordinary--an 86-91 mph fastball that tops out at 92-93 but is quite true, a straight changeup and fringe-average curveball that has gotten better this year. But he's durable and efficient and has many similarities to 2007 first-round pick James Simmons out of UC Riverside.